March 19, 2024
Rider Broncs (6-12) vs. Seton Hall Pirates (9-11)
Location: Lawrenceville, NJ – Herb & Joan Young Field
Live Video – **CANCELED**
Live Stats – GoBroncs.com
Twitter – Twitter.com/SoftballRider

What You Need To Know
- The Rider Softball team plays host to Seton Hall in Tuesday afternoon doubleheader.
- The Broncs have won six games thus far in 2024, taking a pair of games from North Carolina Central and another from Towson at the ECU Pirate Invitational, before defeating Lafayette at the Mizuno Invitational at North Carolina and earning a victory over Kansas City at the Connie Claussen Classic. Most recently, the Broncs split their home-opening doubleheader with Army West Point on March 16.
- Kristyn Gardner is hitting a team-best .387 on the season, including a home run and seven RBI's. Jessie Niegocki is also hitting .362 with eight runs scored and five RBI's.
- Kendall Reda-Fehsal has also contributed a .300 batting average and a team-high 11 RBI's and eight runs scored.
- Jadeyn Merrill leads the Rider pitching staff with a 2-1 record and a 2.05 ERA, while Niegocki is 1-0 with a 2.10 ERA with 17 strikeouts in 13.1 innings pitched. Anna-Marie Groskritz leads the Broncs with 23 strikeouts in 30.0 innings pitched.
- Groskritz pitched a complete-game, two-hit shutout to defeat Army West Point in the Broncs' home opener on March 16, striking out a career-high 10 batters.
- Lauren Caye leads Seton Hall with a .407 average in 27 at bats, scoring 10 runs. Taylor Hill (.319, 18 R) and Katey Brennan (.317, 15 RBI) are next in line in more of a full season of at bats (69 and 60 at bats, respectively), while Kelsey Carr's five home runs and 17 RBI's lead the team.
- Kyra Kreuscher's 4-0 record and 2.60 ERA lead the Pirates' pitching staff. Carr is also 3-6 with a team-leading 40 strikeouts in 51.2 innings pitched.
- The Broncs were picked to finish seventh in the MAAC Preseason Poll, matching their 2023 finish in the league.
- Two-time All-MAAC selection Jessie Niegocki was once again tabbed to the Preseason All-MAAC Team at utility. Niegocki hit a team-best .333 with 32 runs, eight stolen bases and a .413 on-base percentage offensively, while also leading the Broncs as a pitcher with a 3.19 ERA, 10 wins and 118 strikeouts in 118.1 innings pitched, limiting opponents to a .242 batting average.
- Also back for the Broncs is All-MAAC Second Team DP Jadeyn Merrill, who hit .281 with seven doubles, three home runs, 24 RBI's and 16 runs scored as a freshman in 2023. Her average rose to .320 in league contests, where she drove in nine runs and scored five times. She contributed eight multi-hit games.
- The Broncs return their entire pitching staff from 2023 and one of their best pitcher from the two years prior. Niegocki, Kathryn Schmierer (3.44 ERA, 99.2 IP), Fallyn Stoeckel (3.83 ERA, 80.1 IP) and Merrill (3.94 ERA, 21.1 IP) return from last year's staff, while Anna-Marie Groskritz (2.64 ERA, 207.0 IP in 2021-22) returns to the circle for the Broncs following an injury that claimed her entire 2023 season.
- Rider also welcomes eight newcomers in junior college transfer outfielder Asiah Bell and freshmen Kiersten Buchanan (Infield - Holly Springs, NC/Holly Springs), Abby Cruz (Catcher - Corona, CA/Santiago), Shelby Dyer (Outfield - Clarksboro, NJ/Kingsway), Kendall Reda-Fehsal (Catcher - Succasunna, NJ/Roxbury), Olivia Smith (First Base - Freehold, NJ/Freehold Township), Tristen Wren (Outfield - Rancho Cucamonga, CA/Etiwanda) and Kayley York (Infield - Telford, PA/Souderton Area)
- The Broncs are led by seventh-year Head Coach Davon Ortega. Rider's 28 wins in 2022 were the most in Ortega's tenure at Rider by a nine-win margin (19, 2023). Following a 15-year absence, the Broncs made back-to-back MAAC Tournament appearances in 2021 and 2022.